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Les Drus Rock Climbing

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Routes in Les Drus

American Direct-North Face linkup T 5.11 6c+ 23 VIII- 23 E4 5c M2 A1 PG13

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Elevation:	11,802 ft
GPS:	45.93291, 6.95474 Google Map · Climbing Area Map
Page Views:	3,077 total · 95/month
Shared By:	Dylan Colon on Aug 26, 2021
Admins:	Luc-514, David Riley, Bogdan Petre Page Updates (admin only)

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Description

The twin peaks of the 3754 m (12,316 ft) Grand Dru and the 3730 m (12,238 ft) Petit Dru are home to some of the most legendary climbs in the history of alpinism, and from the eastern half of the Chamonix valley the Drus draw the technical alpinist's eye like no other peak in the region. The view from the Montenvers train station is even more arresting, with the more than 3000 ft tall face, one of the tallest such faces in Europe, rocketing up across the Mer de Glace valley from the tourist overlook.

The Drus, therefore, are an exceedingly obvious target for climbers, but there are several factors that keep it from being a truly popular climb. First, it has a longer approach than a lot of the other climbing in the Massif. Second, even the easiest routes are long and sustained and very "alpine," requiring the ability to navigate loose and steep terrain that are difficult to retreat from. There is also no easy way down, and any successful summit is going to be followed by hours of downclimbing and rappelling.

Finally, and most importantly, the mountain has developed a reputation for danger because of its instability and propensity to unleash rockfalls ranging from volleys of pebbles to massive landslides on the west face that can be heard and seen from miles away. It is therefore very important to carefully weight the risks and check conditions before attempting any route. Dry conditions allow for easier rock climbing, but tend to unleash more rockfall, so a careful balance must be struck with the knowledge that the risk can never be fully eliminated. Some routes are much safer than others, and at different times of year, so it is important to do your homework and study conditions before attempting even the easiest routes here.

Getting There

The Drus can be approached by several different routes, depending which face is being attacked. For the routes on the south side of the peak, one should hike to the Charpoua Hut and then climb the Charpoua Glacier to the start of the desired route. For the north and west faces, one should follow the approach for the Flammes de Pierres and then continue up moraines to the Rognon des Drus. Both of these approaches involve starting at Montenvers and then crossing the Mer de Glace via some combination of ladders and fixed ropes set on both sides of the glacier to bypass steep terrain recently exposed by glacial retreat.

It used to be common to approach the north face from the Grands Montets lift station, but with its closure due to fire, this approach is now quite arduous. In any case, it is exposed to rockfall and should be avoided in the summer.

A very abridged history

It is as impossible to write a full history of the Drus here as it would be to for any other storied peak like the Eiger or El Capitan. However, here's a basic overview:

The Grand Dru was first climbed from the southeast by a team of British alpinists led by Clinton Thomas Dent in September 1978, and the Petit Dru followed in the next year via a route on its south face. The first traverse from the Petit Dru to the Grand Dru was accomplished in 1887, albeit with a party on the Grand Dru tossing a rope down to allow the traversing party to climb up.

In 1919, after a failed attempt left it on a ledge six years earlier, a roughly meter-tall Madonna statue was hoisted up and bolted to the summit of the Petit Dru. The statue remains a famous landmark to this day for climbers.

The legendary Peter Allain and Raymond Leininger claimed the first ascent of the 1000m-high north face, which is considered one of the "six great north faces of the Alps" in 1935. This made it the third of the sixth to be climbed, with the Eiger famously being the last three years later. The crux of the route involves sandbagged 6a (mid 5.10) crack climbing at altitude that was all onsighted by Pierre Allain, a feat which many modern climbers with ultralight gear struggle to replicate. For the climb, Allain developed what could be considered the first primitive climbing shoes.

The even more sheer West Face was not attempted until 1952, when a team led by Guido Magnone opened an aid route on the face by climbing halfway up, and then coming back on another day to traverse back in from the north face and finish the route, an effort largely forgotten because of the somewhat bizarre style. Despite this, this effort can probably considered an important early event in big wall climbing, pre-dating the first ascents of similar-sized walls in Yosemite.

In August 1955, Walter Bonatti completed perhaps the most famous climbing effort in the history of the Chamonix-Mont Blanc region, establishing the tremendous Bonatti Pillar on the right side of the west face, solo, over 6 days. The route was nearly 40 pitches long with sustained difficulties.

Not to be left out, the Yosemite crew left their mark in 1962 when Gary Hemmings and Royal Robbins established the American Direct on the left side of the west face, climbing with a direct and nearly all free start into the 1952 route from the ground up, a major improvement in style. In 1965 Robbins returned with John Harlin to straighten out the line even more, establishing the extremely difficult American Directissima, which required both hard free and aid climbing.

In 1982, French superstar Christophe Profit made history by free soloing the American Direct while a helicopter hovered nearby and recorded photos and video of the feat, anticipating the modern media obsession with the activity.

Sadly, melting permafrost has contributed to gigantic landslides on the west face in 2005 and 2011, completely erasing the Bonatti Pillar and the American Directissima and damaging the upper part of the American Direct. Climbers must therefore be very aware of the risk of rockfall on this peak and approach it with appropriate respect. Even the landslide scar, however, has proven an irresistible target for climbers in a range with few opportunities for a big new first ascent. In the winter of 2021, a French team from the High Mountain Military Group took advantage of a stabilizing cold snap and opened a free route called BASE (M8+ 7a), which follows the approximate line of the former Bonatti Pillar, livestreaming the event on YouTube over four days. Clearly, the climbing history of the Drus is still being written.